To finish off the DOS GUI series, here are my picks of the 22 DOS GUIs out of the 70 I tested that I think are well worth trying.

I think that around half of these would make a good daily driver for DOS, with the other half still being quite usable.

The list has been expanded to 22 to cater for the GUIs I tested after my "Best 11" post here.

If you're interested in DOS GUIs download the VHD and try some out.

I've packaged the VHD so that it has all GUIs (except for one) that can be run from a single DOS menu (see screen shot above).

The exception to this is DesqView, which I've included as a separate VHD - the reason for this is that DesqView has a dependency on QEMM and rather than futz around with QEMM I've kept DesqView on a separate VHD (there's a menu option for DesqView but it simply explains the process for running DesqView).

A couple of the GUIs didn't play well with the DOS menu system (FastMenu and McShell) so I've added an explanatory blurb when these start up that explains their quirks with the option to quit loading the GUI and return to the menu.

The VHD also contains a couple of extra GUIs that I gave a miss to - OpenGEM v5 being one, as it has the 80's "I own this drive" approach.

The menu system also has an XTREE option so you can browse the VHD, as well as a VHD reboot option (may be needed for McShell).

The files I've uploaded are:

* VHD Demo of all GUIs    _22_DOS_GUI_Worth_Trying_VirtualBox_Demo_VHD.zip
    (This .zip includes a separate demo VHD for DesqView as per above)

* Install files for all GUIs    _22_DOS_GUI_Worth_Trying_Install_Files_Packed.zip
                                      _22_DOS_GUI_Worth_Trying_Install_Files_Unpacked.iso

* Screencaps of all GUIs    _22_DOS_GUI_Worth_Trying_Screencaps.zip

The VHDs were created with VirtualBox 6.1.26 with DOS 6.22 and Cute Mouse installed.

The 22 GUIs included in the demo are those I found to be most usable:

    BreadBox_Ensemble_4.1.3
    Blue_OS_v1.6
    Desktop_2
    Norton_Desktop_1.0
    DOS_Start_1.9
    RUSH_1.4   
    Costa_GUI_1.60
    Tandy_Deskmate_3.05
    DESQview_2.1
    QBF-OS_9.91
    HyperDOS_2.0
    McShell v3.1
    FastMenu Gold 7.0b
    MOS 98
    MOS Remastered
    QuikMenu 1.2e
    QuikMenu 3.1h
    GAZE v1.0
    Packard Bell Desktop 1991
    ToyBox II 2.02a
    MagicDesk 3.32
    FUN500 (just for the heck of it)

Feel free to try all of the above for yourself as your mileage may vary.


And . . . the 48 GUIs I didn't include are those that met some of these criteria:

    * Had an interface like a dog's breakfast
    * Were advertised as being "Demo", "Concept", "My First GUI", "Beta", ":-) :-)", "Hello Mom"
    * Were designs of what a GUI could be, but were completely or practically non-functional
    * Were File Managers pretending to be a DOS GUI
    * GUIs that crashed on install
    * GUIs that crashed on startup
    * GUIs that crashed while running
    * GUIs that crashed on exit
    * GUIs that crashed randomly
    * Refused to run DOS programs and would only runs apps in .XYZ format (It's my OS, so...)
    * Had install instructions along the lines of "Spudge the API32low.dll with JB's API fudger,
       mix the DLL's with hex 32, tune the kernel.exe debugger to accept tokens only, set extra
    * Shareware products that had excessive buy-me-now nags
    * Were obviously developed by a frustrated script kiddy
    * Were obviously developed by a frustrated Linux user to extract revenge on Microsoft users

    Asgard_1.6           - Almost nothing worked for me, seems like a demo
    Aura M4              - Demo
    BlackStrip_1.5     - Rather confusing GUI, needs a little more work
    CEUI                    - Seems a good example of "Course 101 - Build a GUI"
    Cobalt                  - Essentially a file manager presented as a GUI
    Cybex Shell 2.0    - Demo
    DC-OS b2             - Demo
    EnSpireMe_0.3.0  - Seems the result of too much Red Bull mixed with Qbasic
    EV5                       - Nothing worked for me, perhaps just a demo
    FastMenu Lite 1.0 - nags too much
    Fellowin                - Won't run DOS programs
    Flowers OS           - Won't run DOS programs
    FLY_DOS              - Seems to be another example of "Course 101 - Build a GUI"
    Gauvain_2.2           - Review on IA
    GCOE_1.0.7          - Errored on startup
    GeoWorks              - Errored on startup
    GIMI_2.1               - Review on IA
    Glance                    - So simple it's more of a demo
    Glasses                   - Errors on install
    Gooey                    - Demo
    GOPOS                  - Errors on install
    Gorin                      - Errors on setup
    IBM_TopView       - Unusable, will load but neither keyboard or mouse work
    Icaro_6.4b              - Refused to install
    Ikon                       - Errored on startup
    LA-OS                   - Several included apps kept crashing
    MGUI                    - Won't run DOS programs
    MOS_R1                - Author states it’s more of a demo, no file manager
    New Deal Office    - Errored on startup
    OpenGEM              - Fond memories from the 80's, but at heart a file manager
    OS-DOS                 - Errors on setup
    Ozone_5.8.0           - Review on IA
    POLIT v2005         - Demo
    Plethora v2.2          - Won't install, just loops
    PsychDOS              - Running any function causes it to quit and return to C:
    Qube                       - Review on IA
    RMOS_0.1              - Demo
    SEAL_2.0.11          - Review on IA
    Spectra (WinDOS)  - Nothing worked for me, try it for yourself
    Star Menu v7.1       - 10 second buy-me nag after every operation
    Sword_2.11             - Demo
    SYS2001                 - Password locked - seriously ?
    UniDesk 2008         - Demo
    Viper_B3                 - Demo
    Winclone 1.0           - Demo
    Windose_5.3           - Nothing worked for me, perhaps just a demo
    Windose_5.4           - Nothing worked for me, perhaps just a demo
    XGUI13                  - Simple, but the circus colour theme gave me a headache

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